Background

 

EPAC, the Academy of Contemporary Arts, the borough of Saxon, the Sequence Foundation, the Théâtre du Crochetan, and the town of Monthey have joined forces to organize and host this event. It follows on from the first biennial Imaginary Landscapes competition of international art, which was initiated by the Director of EPAC in collaboration with the MoCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) at Taipei on Taiwan (ROC), and was supported right from the start by the Director of the Lieu Unique, Patrick Gyger.

 

Selected entries from the first competition, on the theme of imaginary countries, were exhibited at the Kunstverein Oberwallis in the context of LABEL’ART, the Valais’s Triennial of Contemporary Art. The second edition of the competition, on the theme of “Immortal quest – new spaces and codes – the post human”, was judged by an international jury in October 2013 and the winning entries were shown at the MoCA from 9 to 22 November 2013.

 

The idea of a Symposium on art and technology grew out of the desire to mount this exhibition in the Valais. Attracted by the project, several prominent persons from the cultural fabric of the Valais supported the Sequence Foundation in organizing this Symposium on digital culture. As a result, various creative forces from the Valais and from elsewhere in Switzerland and abroad, have been invited to participate in this novel event. The Symposium has also come about through close contacts between the EPAC and professionals from the world of art and various fields of research. With its roots in the local community, the ambitious programme of the Symposium also has a national and international dimension, and thus makes a creative contribution to the renown of the Valais.